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Frank Gilroy's Pulitzer Prize-winning 'The Subject Was Roses' is essentially Eugene O'Neill Light. Date published: 1/19/2006
WASHINGTON--Frank D. Gilroy drew on family memories when he wrote "The Subject Was Roses"--a story of a man, a woman, their life together and the perspective their son has gained through three years away at war.
"Roses" is well written, peeling away layer after layer of artifice and evasion as Timmy Cleary begins to understand the dynamics of his parents' marriage. The problem is that this has been done before, with more impact. "Roses" is essentially Eugene O'Neill Light. Think "Long Day's Journey Into Night" without the drug addiction or alcoholism. John Cleary's family was dirt poor. He has clawed his way to middle class comfort, but is more than just rough around the edges. Nettie Cleary grew up in a family that, while not rich, enjoyed the opera and musical Sunday afternoons. She picked John over her gentler suitors because she thought he'd be more likely to provide her with the good things of life that she enjoyed, but she's never cut the emotional ties to her family. Young Timmy grew up surrounded by animosity, his health affected by the constant tension. The play opens with Timmy's return from three years in the Army during World War II. Time, distance and combat duty have matured him, giving him the perspective to see his parents' problems with more understanding. He tells his mother that before he went away he blamed his father. When he first came back he blamed his mother. After a couple of days at home, he says, he can't blame anybody anymore. The cast in the current Kennedy Center production is universally excellent. Bill Pullman, well know for his film work in movies like "While You Were Sleeping" and "Independence Day," gives John Cleary an honest, rough emotionalism. It's clear that this is a man who has given up trying to please a wife who bewilders him and is belatedly trying to forge a bond with a son he has never understood. Judith Ivey, also known from movies and television ("Designing Women"), is just as brilliant in her portrayal of Nettie Cleary, disappointed by life and clinging desperately to the son who has been her only ally. The surprise is Steve Kazee, a 2005 graduate of New York University's Graduate Acting Program, as Timmy Cleary. Kazee gives a strong, authoritative performance as a young man trying to get to know his parents as people, loving them, but refusing to allow them to return him to the role of badminton shuttlecock. Director Leonard Foglia, who also directed the Kennedy Center's "On Golden Pond" last season, has done a fine job with "Roses," assembling a talented design team to showcase the excellent cast. Gilroy won the 1965 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as the 1964 Best Play Tony Award, for "Roses." There is, indeed, much to admire about the play. It just doesn't pack the wallop of O'Neill or William Inge. To reach LUCIA ANDERSON:
Date published: 1/19/2006
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